The board comprises seven seats, and this year voters will elect three new members.

Four candidates for are hoping to fill the spot in District 2.

The district straddles the near east side.

Elizabeth Berfield has a master's of library science degree and comes from a family of educators. She is now a stay at home mom, raising two young daughters. Her husband is a university professor. Berfield wants to tackle the issues of poverty and homeless students.

"I think we need community support to address the root of the problems that allow students to achieve or not achieve when they enter school," said Berfield.

Phil Haming is from the Highlands and is a father of five. He's a sales engineer for a computerized machine tool manufacturer. He's also a former JCPS teacher. Haming is a strong advocate for ending student assignment and returning to neighborhood schools.

"We don't have a school system. We have a busing system. One thousand buses a day. Do the math. It's ridiculous to be spending all this money moving kids form one end of town to the other," said Haming.

David Jones, Jr. is the son of the founder of Humana. He was chairman and still has a seat on the Humana board of directors and runs a venture capital firm. He started as a teacher in China, and is still an adjunct professor at the University of Louisville. Jones said he wants to put his experience and skills to use by helping to re-invent the school system to better prepare students.

"The biggest issue is half the kids who attend JCPS don't leave with an education that prepares them for the future," said Jones.

George Tolhurst is originally from Syracuse, N.Y., but has lived in Louisville for 50 years. He has been an outspoken critic of busing since 1975, and is a strong advocate for decentralizing JCPS. Tolhurst said he's a strong candidate because of his experience.

"I think I can do good. I think I can make a difference, I really do," said Tolhurst.